Connecting-rod



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFCE.

REINHOLD BOEKLEN, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

CONNEGTING-ROD APPLIED TO CRANKS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 25,716, dated October 11, 1859.l

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, REINHOLD BOEKLEN, of Jersey City, in the county ofHudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Connecting- Rods Applied to Cranks for the Purpose ofConverting Reciprocating into Rotary M0- tion; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification, said drawing representing a side view of a crank andtreadle connected by a rod with my improvement.

My invention is more particularly designed for treadle connections, butis applicable, with more or less advantage, to all connecting-rodsemployed as means of converting reciprocating into rotary motion.

It consists in giving the rod elasticity both longitudinally and in alateral direction parallel with the planes of revolution of the crank byextending it in the form of a bow or arc beyond the crank pin or wrist,the curvature of such bow being in planes parallel with the planes ofrevolution of the crank, and the said bow being made sufficientlyelastic to yield to the force necessary to be transmitted through it toturn the crank.

The object of the improvement is to facilitate the passing of thecenters, and to enable the crank to be started by the rod in case of itshaving stopped on the center.

To enable others to apply my improvement to use, I will proceed todescribe its construction and operation.

A, is the crank-shaft to which rotary motion is to be given by thetreadle, B.

C, is the arm of the crank, and D, the wrist.

E, is the fulcrum of the treadle, and F, the pin attaching the treadleto the connectingrod, Gr. The portion, a, b, of the connecting-rod,commencing at the treadle and extending the greater portion of thedirect distance between the treadle and the crank wrist, may be eitherstraight or crooked, but,

as this part should be rigid, it should preferably be straight; theremaining portion, or bow, Z), c, may have almost any curve, butitshould extend so far beyond the wrist as to return toward the treadle,as shown in the drawing. The whole of the rod may be of steel, or theportion, a, Z9, may be of iron and the bow, Z2, c, of steel, or forlight machinery the bow or the whole rod may be made of hard-rolledbrass; but in any case the bow must have suiiicient flexibility to bendand unbend with the force necessary to drive the crank.

The rod should preferably be applied to the crank in such manner thatits curvature toward the wrist, D, is in the opposite direction to thedirection in which the crank is to rotate, as is illustrated by thearrow in the drawing, indicating the direction of the rotation. Theeffect of the elastic bow when the rod is thus applied is as follows:Suppose the crank to be on the lower center the pressure of the footbeing at that instant changed from the part of the treadle nearest therod to the part on the other side of the fulcrum, E, the force appliedupwardly to the rod, which, if the rod were rigid, would have noinfluence on the crank, tends to contract the bow laterally, and sodevelops a force therein which exerts itself on the wrist in thedirection of the arrow, and so starts the crank. This action of the bowis also aided by the change of position of the center, F, which ispermitted by the longitudinal elasticity of the rod before the crank isstarted, and which brings the said center, F, slightly out of line withthe center of the wrist and the shaft, and so causes the force that isapplied directly to the rod to exert an influence on the crank in thesame direction as that exerted by the elasticity of the bow. Again whenthe crank is on the upper center, as shown in red outline, the forceapplied downwardly to the rod by the change of direction of the pressureof the foot on the treadle tends to open the bow and so develop itselasticity in a direction to pull the crank around in the direction ofthe arrow, and this effect is aided by the change of position of thecenter, F, that is permitted before the crank starts, which brings thesaid center out of line with the centers of the wrist and shaft, andenables the direct pull of the rod to act effectively on the crank.These effects produced by the elastic bow also aid in bringing the crankpast the centers while the crank has a continuous motion; and besidesthis the longitudinal elasticity of the rod prevents the jarring whichis common to treadles on the change of direction in their motion takingplace, more especially when operated by persons not practiced in theiruse, as is the case of ladies first using sewing machines, and permits afreer and easier motion.

I do not Claim broadly the making of connecting-rods for crankmovements, elastic, as I am aware that such rods have been made elasticin the direction of their length; but

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

Giving the rod elasticity, both longitudisuch boW elastic, substantiallyas and for the 15 purpose specified.

R. BOEKLEN.

Witnesses: Y

T. STUYVESANT, J. F. HOUSE.

